E3 2001: New Splashdown Movies

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This game might have the best water of the show -- and this show had a lot of great water.

By IGN Staff

When we saw Splashdown at Rainbow Studios a few weeks ago, it looked impressive. At E3, it looks even more so, meaning we're even more confident that there's a credible contender to Wave Race's long-held pre-eminence in waterborne racing. It's running pretty smoothly with four riders on the course, many more lighting effects, and better water physics, so it should be something pretty special once it's complete.

The water is of course the centerpiece of Splashdown. It used to be very good-looking, but now it moves even more realistically, and there's new layer of lighting cast on the surface. The result is exquisite, the most realistic water I've ever seen in a game by a long shot. The sky from which that light falls down looks prettier, too, especially in the redone Venice level, which has a a soft, just-before-sunset quality to it that nicely complements the towering architecture all around (which the new course flyover shows off well). You can't ride up the walls anymore (curses), but there are more ramps implemented to let you catch air and crash onto gondolas.

The way the boats interact with the water hasn't changed much, but the effect of that interaction is now more evident. Wakes kick up particles, create foam on the water, and actually deform the surface, cutting a trough through the waves that can affect the performance of riders behind you. The wakes still need work, to make them deeper and more persistent (as it is, the textures and animation fade away too quickly), but the basic implementation looks strong. The boats themselves have improved, meanwhile, with better lighting effects on the hulls.

Rider animation is pronounced, varied, and has an obvious influence on the handling of the boat -- leaning in all directions affects direction and speed. For even more interesting animations, though, the stunt system is now in, with three tiers of tricks that provide a varying degree of improvement to your performance meter. First-tier tricks are easy to pull with just one button, progressing up to complex Street Fighter-style movements on the third tier. Mastering tricks and following the courses is important, because it keeps your performance meter high, and that translates to better acceleration and speed. Dull or sloppy racing is punished by poor performance, and thus makes it very hard to advance in the career mode.

That career mode is due to include qualifiers for each race, as well as special challenge races. Challenges are one-on-one indoor competitions, where victory is rewarded with a new playable character. Add those to the 18 regular tracks and you have plenty of replay value to work with. Splashdown has a little ways to go technically -- the framerate chops some, especially when you race close to other boats -- but it's got a rock-solid core that Rainbow continues to build on. Look forward to it.